The invention pertains to fish strike indicators and particularly to weighted fishing bobbers of aerodynamic design lying in a horizontal position on the water when in normal use.
Fishing bobbers of many descriptions from simple dry twigs to elaborate multi-purpose designs are known in the prior art. The simplest manufactured bobbers are spheroid or ellipsoid models made of cork or foam with some simple means to hold the bobber to the line. A representative of these types is recited in U.S. Pat. No. 668,254 issued on Feb. 19, 1901 to C. W. Dickinson. These simple bobbers suffer from two common deficiencies; they are too lightweight to be cast any distance and they usually indicate a fish strike only when pulled completely underwater by the fish, hence a fish feels resistance equal to the total amount of water displaced by the submerged bobber. This can be detrimental to fish of small size commonly sought by many anglers as table fare. The artificial feel of the bait or lure may cause these fish to turn from the hook.
A second class of bobbers is those of elongate design, commonly known as stick bobbers or pencil bobbers. An example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,902 issued May 9, 1995 to T. W. Hicks. Stick or pencil bobbers suffer from the same deficiencies as round or oval bobbers in that their lack of weight limits casting distance and their need to submerge a relatively large highly buoyant body before the strike is indicated may decrease the willingness of the fish to take the bait.
A third type of bobber uses a metal additive generally in the form of lead as weight to promote casting distance. An example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,885, issued Jul. 11, 1989 to I. L. Rubbelke. This bobber has a metal washer internal to its body and, being a dissimilar material, involves a step in the manufacturing process that can be eliminated through the use of similar materials as the weight additive.
A need is present for a simply made fishing bobber capable of casting distance greatly exceeding similar bobbers, thereby greatly enlarging the angler's fishing area, and hence, his enjoyment of the pastime and yet maintaining a controllable sensitivity to fish strikes to enable an angler to catch fish when those fish might otherwise shy away from the bait.